SEO Tools and Resources

Ever notice how website visitors rarely follow the exact path you’ve planned for them? You might build great landing pages for different customer types, but visitors have their own plans. They Google something random and land on your blog post. They click a link from social media that drops them into your resources section. Or they skip your homepage completely and jump straight to a product page. This creates a problem. How do you make sure your website works for all your target customers when they aren’t following your planned customer journeys? The answer is simple: Build your entire website, not just specific landing pages, with y…

Google now lets you use AI to generate backgrounds for the images you add within Google Posts in your Google Business Profiles. “When creating a post for your customers in the Maps app, you can create an engaging AI-generated background for the photos you plan to use in the post,” Victoria Kroll from Google wrote. This is similar to the AI-generation image features Google has for shopping ads, product studio, even in products in Business Profiles and more. How it works. To add an AI-generated background, tap “Transform with AI” when adding a photo to your post in Maps on iPhone, select a theme, and generate. To create a post with an AI-generated background …

PPC automation has always been about efficiency. We’ve relied on scripts, rule-based optimizations, and APIs to manage campaigns at scale. These tools have been essential, but they all share a common limitation: they follow strict, pre-programmed logic. So people are still needed, even with simple and boring tasks. But now we’re on the cusp of a new type of automation that can further reduce our workloads and free up our brains for more engaging and strategic work. We’re close to the end of the days when a scraper breaks when a website changes its layout or a PPC script fails because it can’t determine all ways that a company’s brand might be misspe…

As of a few days ago, Google now allows advertisers to use fingerprinting to track users across devices and websites, collecting data points like IP addresses, operating system details, and screen resolution. Why we care. Google’s decision to permit fingerprinting, a powerful user-tracking technique it banned in 2019, raises significant privacy concerns and has already drawn regulatory scrutiny. By allowing fingerprinting, Google gives advertisers a powerful way to track users across devices without relying on cookies, potentially improving ad personalization and attribution. However, the move also raises legal and ethical concerns, as regulators, especially in th…

Google announced it is expanding AI Overviews to show on more Google Lens results, including more novel or unique images. This is still only showing on a subset of searches, but now more than when Google first added AI Overviews to Google Lens in May of 2024. Plus, Google is also adding to its Chrome app and Google app for iOS a new Lens feature that lets you select and search whatever’s on your screen with just a simple gesture. AI Overviews and Lens. Google wrote, “now, with help from our advanced AI models, Lens can go much further and provide information on the contents of more novel or unique images. For those kinds of queries, AI Overviews will begin to appe…

Welcome to our weekly Search Engine Land series – Everything you need to know about Google Ads in less than 3 minutes. Every Wednesday, I highlight a different Google Ads feature, and what you need to know to get the best results from it, all in a quick 3-minute read. Let’s explore a powerful tool that can help your Google Search ads stand out and improve your click-through rates: keyword insertion. This is the closest thing we have to a “hack” in Google Ads, so be sure you’re not missing out on this tactic! I’ll cover: What is keyword insertion? Why should you use keyword insertion? How to use keyword insertion Best practices for keyword insertion …

Google announced new creative tools in Google Ads, leveraging its Imagen 3 AI model to generate lifestyle imagery across Performance Max, Demand Gen, Display, and Apps campaigns. How it works. Advertisers can input specific prompts like “middle-aged man chopping carrots,” with options to customize age, gender, race, and ethnicity while maintaining control over final image selection. Key features: Text-to-image AI generation for humans – a first for Google Ads. Asset-audience recommendations to improve ad targeting. Asset testing for Performance Max campaigns with feed-only strategies. AI-generated image suggestions coming soon for even faster creativ…

In the crowded field of AI-powered SEO tools, one open-source large language model (LLM) is quietly gaining traction: DeepSeek. While giants like Google and OpenAI dominate the LLM landscape, DeepSeek offers a different approach. Free to use and with a focus on coding and logical reasoning, it presents a unique opportunity for SEOs, particularly those focused on technical optimization. Is DeepSeek the hidden gem SEOs have been searching for, or are its limitations too significant to ignore? Let’s dive in. What is DeepSeek? DeepSeek is an open-source large language model developed by DeepSeek AI, a China-based research lab. It was launched in la…

SEO isn’t what it used to be. With AI-driven search results, increasing zero-click searches, and more competition for user attention, ranking on Google is tougher than ever. But search is still a major traffic driver – if you adapt. The key? Treat SEO as part of a broader, integrated marketing strategy. This article breaks down a simple framework to align SEO with your overall marketing funnel, ensuring you reach, engage, and convert your ideal customers effectively. The evolving SEO challenge: Why optimization alone isn’t enough Nowadays, it’s not enough to have a well-optimized and search engine-friendly website. The modern SERP is a …

An SEO audit is a health checkup of your site. It allows you to know what works and what does not, and it allows you to make improvements based on what you find. This can lead to improved performance — both on the search results pages and how visitors engage with your website. Table of contents What is an SEO audit? An SEO audit checklist Step 1: Preparing an SEO audit Step 2: User experience & content SEO Step 3: General on-page SEO Step 4: Site speed and engagement Step 5: Monitoring and tracking results Conclusion on doing SEO audits What is an SEO audit? An SEO audit looks at how well a website performs in search results to find areas that need wo…

Performance Max (PMax) campaigns offer a machine-learning-driven approach to maximizing your ad performance across Google’s inventory. However, with its “black box” nature, optimizing PMax can feel like navigating in the dark. While adjusting budgets and bid strategies are standard levers, improving your data inputs and learning from insights are key to unlocking better results. Here’s how you can harness search term data, ad optimization strategies, and shopping feed improvements to maximize your PMax campaigns. 1. Keep optimizing your search term coverage to reduce wasted spend Performance Max may not be keyword-based, but search term control is st…

The traditional marketing funnel doesn’t reflect how users actually search and engage with content today—and it’s hurting your SEO. With access to more data than ever before, marketers now have a better framework for driving organic traffic: the spiderweb. By structuring your content strategy around interconnected, high-value pages, you can drive faster rankings, more organic traffic, and better user experiences. Join Think Spiderwebs, Not Funnels For Remarkable SEO Results with Ryan Brock to learn: Why traditional funnels waste organic traffic opportunities What Gartner and leading researchers say about the modern buyer’s journey How to shift your cont…

A new “Advanced Plans” section within Google Ads’ Reach Planner tool was spotted by digital marketing expert Brent Neale. The big picture. The tool represents Google’s continued push toward automated campaign optimization, offering AI-driven recommendations for budget allocation. How it works. Advanced Plans suggests a mix of ad types based on advertisers’ goals, creating specific plans for both conversion creation and capture. Why we care. The feature could help advertisers more effectively allocate their budgets across different ad types based on specific conversion goals. Between the lines. This appears to be part of Google’s broader strategy to sim…

Google announced the public beta of Display & Video 360 API v4 last week, alongside significant updates to v3. Key changes in v4. Mandatory optimization objective field for new insertion orders Removal of Campaign and InsertionOrder resource targeting management Renaming of FirstAndThirdPartyAudience to FirstPartyAndPartnerAudience Additional features in v3 and v4. Asset-based creative support Integral Ad Science quality sync integration Expanded geographic region targeting options Why we care. The beta release of Display & Video 360 API v4 and new v3 features gives advertisers enhanced capabilities for programmatic advertising ma…

“Why can’t we just use AI to do it?” Whether you’re on the brand or agency side of SEO, I’m guessing you’ve heard some version of this from an exec or a client with little knowledge of AI tools, SEO principles, or both. I’ve been asked that question multiple times because the other party saw or heard about modest success from LLM-generated content that got some clicks and impressions. My answer: because thousands of LLM-produced pieces of content do not a successful SEO program make. This article dives into the human and AI roles in today’s SEO landscape, including: What people are getting wrong about AI and content. What AI can and can’t do for S…

With so many PPC agencies claiming to be experts, how do you separate true performers from the ones who just talk a good game? This guide walks you through a no-nonsense evaluation process to find an agency that delivers real results. 1. Define your goals first Before reaching out to agencies, have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve with PPC. Are you looking for lead generation, ecommerce sales, local service inquiries, or brand awareness? Knowing your objectives will help you ask the right questions and assess whether an agency is a good fit. Also, factor in your budget constraints and expected ROI. A good agency should work …

If you manage both SEO and PPC, striking the right balance is key to maximizing efficiency and ROI. When paid search campaigns compete with high-performing organic listings, brands end up spending more while gaining little additional traffic. Keyword cannibalization dilutes search performance, inflates costs, and reduces overall marketing effectiveness. This guide will help you recognize the warning signs of PPC cannibalization, test its impact, and implement strategies to ensure both channels work together for optimal results. Signs your PPC campaigns are cannibalizing your SEO rankings Declining organic click-through rates If your organic ranking…

We rely on search engines to find information every day, but what if there was a better way? Instead of manually gathering details from multiple sources, AI agents can do the heavy lifting for you. They don’t just retrieve information. They analyze, organize, and personalize it in real time. This article explores: How AI agents help businesses create more personalized customer experiences. The key components and frameworks behind AI-powered agents. How multi-agent systems can collaborate to solve complex tasks. From information retrieval to intelligent problem-solving AI agents represent a fundamental shift in how we interact with AI. …

Join experts from OneTrust and Snowflake for an exclusive look into how modern organizations are integrating privacy and consent management into their data ecosystem. In this session, Snowflake and OneTrust will share real-world use cases and insights into how organizations are activating consent for marketing purposes, all while streamlining compliance at scale. Tune in on March 4 to learn about: The intersections between consent, privacy, and data governance How enterprise brands integrate privacy and consent management with Snowflake OneTrust’s new Native App for accelerating compliance workflows within Snowflake This session is perfect for marketers…

After 25 years of working in SEO, I’ve seen firsthand how traditional keyword research methods fail to keep up with Google’s advancements. In my SMX Next presentation, I challenged SEOs to go beyond outdated keyword methodologies and embrace an intent-driven approach. Here are six key insights from that session. 1. Traditional keyword research is failing us Traditional keyword research is no longer enough. We’ve relied on tools that provide data on competition, search volume, and relevance, but they don’t uncover the hidden context behind searches. For years, SEOs have prioritized high-volume, low-competition keywords, assuming this would drive r…

As marketers, we love to explore emerging strategies and trends to stay ahead of the curve. However, what’s relevant and effective is always changing, despite countless case studies and think-pieces predicting the next big trend. Content marketing, in particular, is highly susceptible to speculation and testing because it is fluid and heavily influenced by consumers’ behaviors and interests at any given moment. This makes it interesting, innovative and challenging. So, what are the predictions for content marketing in 2025? Let’s dive in. 1. Spark inspiration with ‘visionary’ content Robert Rose recently covered an emerging trend – visionary conten…

Google had this really visible bug over the past week, where the number of reviews shown on a Google Business Profile, was showing fewer reviews than it should have. In short, Google was not adding up the reviews accurately but no reviews were actually removed from the business listing. That being said, Google posted an update that it has resolved the bulk of the issues but there still may be some that are not fully restored yet. The remaining reviews count should be fixed within the coming days, Google said. What Google said. Victoria Kroll from Google posted an updated statement last night in the forums saying: Most affected profiles now display accurate …

Google has updated its Merchant listing structured data guidelines to add a new beta for member pricing priceType, aka validForMemberTier property. Google also clarified the active prices, sale prices, strikethrough prices with more examples and instructions. What Google said. Google added examples and instructions for using the priceType property and new beta validForMemberTier property to encode active prices, sale prices, strikethrough prices, and member prices in JSON-LD to the Merchant listing structured data guidelines, the search company announced. They did this to “make it easier for merchants to specify complex pricing through structured data and bring pa…

The concept of the funnel is so fundamental to digital marketing, it’s hard to imagine a world where it doesn’t serve as the go-to metaphor for lead generation and capture. There’s only one problem: it doesn’t fit with the way real humans engage with information on today’s internet. With access to more data than ever before—and tech to interpret that data for marketers looking to write the right content to drive organic traffic—we now know the better framework for marketers to embrace is the spiderweb. Sign up today to join Search Engine Land and Ryan Brock for this live event and learn how to shift your thinking around your organic content strategy to create the …

Google released comprehensive answers to the most frequent questions about Performance Max, based on feedback from webinars, advertiser roundtables, and account team interactions. The big picture. Performance Max has become a central piece of Google’s advertising ecosystem, but marketers have expressed concerns about its “black box” nature and effectiveness across different business goals. Why we care. As advertisers grapple with Google’s AI-powered Performance Max campaigns, the company addresses crucial questions about transparency, lead quality, and campaign optimization. Key concerns addressed: Channel-level reporting transparency Lead quality …